Digital camera resources?

[stiltman]

I want to buy a digital camera, but not sure what to get.
I have a 1MP currently, but the picts don't look so great. Plus, I can't blow them up to 8x10s or anything. I don't care much about manual controls, I just want a point and shoot that has great picts that can be blown up to 8x10s if I want to frame some....

You all have any suggestions?
What do you think the lowest Mega Pixel I should get for 8x10s?

[stiltman]

Do you all think this is pretty accurate?
http://www.acdsystems.com/English/Community/ColumnsArticles/PhotoTips/photo-2002-06-08.htm

medium print quality
2.2 Megapixels = 8x10
3.34 Megapixels = 11x14
4.1 Megapixels = 11x14

Pro quality prints
2.2 Megapixels = 3.5x5
3.34 Megapixels = 5x7
4.1 Megapixels = 8x10 with border

[mrtristan]

Personally, I'm biased towards Canon. I own a S30, and the pictures are pretty good. The main advantage of this camera are the manual controls, but I hardly use them. You can take some amazing shots by adjusting the camera manually, but I'm more of a point and shoot kind of guy.

I just bought a Canon S1. It should arrrive this wednesday. It's only a 3.2 megapixel, but it has a 10X optical zoom. It also has an image stabilizer, which is like Sony's steady shot, but for film cameras. The last feature that had me sold was it's ability to take true 30fps video clips, at 640X480.

I have a mini-dv camcorder, but I hardly use it. Most video that I take is in clips, anyway. I bought it to record the intersting moments in my son's developement, but he's only interesting for short moments at a time.

It's in the $475-$500 price range. I don't know what your budget is, but it's a pretty decent price, for the features.

[stiltman]

I was thinking about the Canon S45 or the Pentax 430RS Both are around the same price point.

I mainly want a point and shoot camera. My wife's Pentax zoom60R 35mm camera is starting to acked up, so I thought an easy to use yet high res digital could replace my cheapy and her good 35mm. Plus, I'm getting tired of scaning the picts she likes from her camera. Also from reading sites today, I want to get a 4MP camera if I plan on making 8x10s and 11x14s for good quality. The 2 cameras above have 3X optical which is better than her 60mm zoom on her camera.

[Capmaster]

Canon.
I have a Digital Elph Powershot S300 (Ixus S300) which is 2 megapixels. I recently had five or six vacation pics enlarged to 16" x 20" and there is not a trace of pixelation or stair-stepping along diagonal edges. Not a trace. It surprised me. I'm tempted to try 20 x 30 posters to see if I can reach the point where it looks like the resolution isn't high enough. 8 x 10 isn't close to that point and obviously 16x20 isn't either.

I've done some reading and many experts believe that absolute resolution is only one part of the equation. You also have to consider the quality of the optics and the algorithm used by the camera's processor. All these items can make or break a camera's output.

It used to be that when they were trying to sell us the latest 1 megapixel cameras, their line was "you really need 1 megapixel to make a decent 8 x 10 without pixelation". Then 2 megapixel cameras came out and they said "you really need 2 megapixels ..." blah, blah. Surely people's interpretation of what is "adequate" hasn't changed in 10 years. What's changed is marketing tactics.

Now they're saying "3 megapixels is borderline for good 4 x 6 prints. You really want 4 or 5 megapixels." And the stupid buying public, being sheep-like, buys the story because they don't want to risk botching those upcoming pics showing little Jeffrey pissing off the pier at Martha's Vineyard. The salespeople must salivate whenever resolution is bumped up by 1 megapixel :P

I'm here to tell you that I haven't found an enlargement that's big enough to show a resolution deficiency with my Canon. I'm told that it's because Canon has a superb post-pic processing algorithm, and Canon optics are superb, as well as an outstanding CCD sensor. FWIW

[b1tchm4gn3t]

Heres what I have and I think, its an awesome camera....I gave $300 US for it at Staples and I also bought the docking Station that comes with the rechargable battery. Love this camera, quality is outstanding, and with the choice of quality settings makes it ideal. This thing has more tricks than a hooker.

http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2.cgi?cid=17436&PAGE=PRODUCT&PROD_ID=458066&fp=F&sit...OO8ZvHchCQzIhg

ps. I also forgot to mention it takes audio and video for those short clip occasions, depending on what size of memory card you use.

[stiltman]

Guess I'll add the Canon PowerShot S400 Digital Elph to the list of possibles. It's at about the same price too

[Capmaster]

Guess I'll add the Canon PowerShot S400 Digital Elph to the list of possibles. It's at about the same price too

Since my S300 is 2+ years old, you'll get the same zoom, better res, and better features for about what I paid. Digicams are like PCs ....blink and they're obsolete.

One camera I've been drooling over is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ10:

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/panasonic/dmc_fz10-review/index.shtml

It has a 12X optical zoom using an image-stabilized Leica lens. The only drawback is the pic quality doesn't seem to be up to Canon's standards. But ohhhhhhh, what a lens! It's also a huge camera. The nice thing, actually one of the highlights of the Powershot is its size - about the same as a thick deck of cards. Perfect if you're looking for a point and shoot to throw in your pocket or glove compartment.

[mrtristan]

My cousin has the S400 and it takes incredibly clear shots. It's a point and shoot, with some manual controls, but not as many as the S45/S50. I was going to get one of those, but I opted for the Powershot S1, instead. The S1 has a lower megapixel rating, but I believe the optics are superior.

[redwudz]

I have had a Cannon S400 for almost a year and I love it. The small size bothered me at first, but it's small enough you tend to take it everywhere and use it more than a full size camera. There is a small LowePro soft case (D-Res 8s)that fits it perfectly and that's about the only accessory you need. Get a big compact flash card. I have a 256MB and you can take several hundred pics before you run out of space. Be nicer if it had a little more wide angle on the lens, but overall a great little camera. I have the 4 megapixel model and I believe they now have a higher res model.

[racer-x]

I have the Fujifilm 3800. It's a 3.2 MP camera and it takes excellent 8 x 10 pics. It's got plenty of manual settings, wich you should use to get the best results. I've had it for 2 years now. I think you can get it as low as $250 now.

I use it all the time, especially for images to put into video. I wouldn't get anything less than 3 MP, regardless of price.

[The village idiot]

http://www.dpreview.com/

[stiltman]

Anyone have a Nikon CoolPix 4300?
Seems to have good reviews and Office depot has it on sale for $197 after a $150 rebate.

Normally, I don't do rebates, but this is almost half off. This would be one rebate I would sure to follow up on and document with all the copies!!!



:EDIT:

Well this sucks!
They ran out of them...The they were substituting a Canon A80 in place of it....Ran out of all those too...$h!t !

[Capmaster]

Anyone have a Nikon CoolPix 4300?
Seems to have good reviews and Office depot has it on sale for $197 after a $150 rebate.

Normally, I don't do rebates, but this is almost half off. This would be one rebate I would sure to follow up on and document with all the copies!!!



:EDIT:

Well this sucks!
They ran out of them...The they were substituting a Canon A80 in place of it....Ran out of all those too...$h!t !

When I was in the market for mine I did many comparisons and printed 8x10s from all the models I was looking at. The thing I noticed about the Nikons was a color shift. They seemed to have a bluish tint in all the greens.

Make sure you can either try it out with your own CF card and take it home to scrutinize, or go to one of the many eval sites that have actual test pics.

[stiltman]

@cap, I did check all the review sites and it would seem the Nikon 4300 has gotten some good reviews...


Here's the cool part. I went to BestBuy yesterday just to do some browsing. I noticed they had a Nikon 4300 (open box) for $190 after $50 rebate. The salesman said the had a sale on them the day before and sold 12 cameras. This one was the last. I asked if everything was still included and he said yes. I bought the camera and realized while walking out to my car that I don't have the box. I went back to the sales guy and told him I needed the UPC on the box for the mail in rebate. He couldn't find it and paged the MOD (manager on duty) Well after waiting around for 30 mins (he page the manager every couple mins) a manager showed up. I said I need to have a UPC in order to get the rebate. The manager said fine we'll give it to you now. I went to the fron and the credited my CC $53 LOL they included the tax......I got home and found no mem card with the stuff. BACK to the freaking store I went. Got there and talked to the sales guy...I said it didn't have a mem card. He grabed a 128mb card and handed it to me. He said if they say anything when you leave tell them to call back to me....

Final conclusions
Got a Nikon CoolPix 4300
$190 without having to do a rebate
128mb Flashcard instead of 16mb

[Hardcoreruss]

I have the pentax optio 550, believe that has been replaced with the 555, quality camera, 5 mp and 5 optical zoom. If you ask me when you are after a camera optical soom is the one, **** digital zoom cause you can use that on the pc indefinitely. Also when it comes to the cards, as much as I hate to recommend it, Ebay is cheaper than ANYWHERE.